


Don't You Forget About Me

by chronic_writer



Category: Supernatural
Genre: F/M, Fear demon - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-29
Updated: 2017-09-23
Packaged: 2018-12-08 15:11:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11649165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chronic_writer/pseuds/chronic_writer
Summary: Claire Novak knows what she wants, and she wants to hunt. So badly, that she follows a Fear Demon she knows very little about to a small town in Michigan where she crosses paths with another young hunter.Ben Braeden can tell you the exact date he started hunting, because it was only three years ago. Now, on the trail of a Fear Demon who is terrorizing nearby towns, he must work with someone he's never met to catch a demon that will change his life forever.In 2011, Dean Winchester made a heart-wrenching decision to have Lisa and Ben Braeden's memories whitewashed. Nearly seven years and a Fear Demon later, he's fumbling with a decision to either run away or face the only people who ever gave him a chance at a normal life.





	1. Chapter 1

1.

 

            "Claire, open the door." Jody demands as calmly as she can as she jiggles the door handle for the second time.

            "No, thank you." Claire's voice rings through the heavy wood door, annoyed.

            Jody sighs, feeling defeated. She's never sure she was built for raising a teenage girl, it's harder than she thought it'd be.

            "Claire, open this door right now or I will break it down!"

            She waits.

            Something that sounds like an annoyed sigh sounds on the other side of the door.

            She waits.

            She can practically hear Claire rolling her eyes.

            "Don't think for a second that I won't do it!"

            Again, she waits.

            After counting, slowly, to ten, and mostly to calm herself down, she turns toward the end of the hall to reach for the baseball bat she keeps hidden behind a tasteful hutch. She wasn't planning on actually breaking the door down, that'd be too expensive. Maybe just a few good whacks to get her point across.

            She holds the bat firm in her hands and strikes the door, frowning at the slight indent that gets left behind. She recovers and strikes the door a second time, wincing as the indent becomes deeper. She really doesn't want to hit it a third time, afraid she might actually break through the dark wood, but by God she is going to get this girl out of her bedroom. She readies herself to swing again when the door is jerked open, an angry teenager standing on the other side.

            "You're psychotic." Claire says flatly, her face void of emotion.

            Jody smiles, resting the bat against the wall, "We need to talk."

            "No thanks. I'm all set."

            Jody steps into the room, crossing her arms over her chest, "You haven't been to school in a week and you haven't been looking for a job like I've been asking you to. I told you I would help pay for school when you said you wanted to go, but I can't pay it all."

            "It's community college." Claire scoffs.

            "Don't mean it's cheap, darling."

            "Whatever then," Claire says as she moves to her closet to grab her backpack, "don't pay for it. It's stupid anyway." She begins shoving clothes into the bag.

            Jody sighs, looking around the room, "I don't understand, Claire. You won't go to school, but you keep yourself locked up in here reading all these old textbooks." She walks towards Claire's desk, touching the edge of an open book.

            "Don't." Claire snaps, but it's too late. She watches nervously as Jody eyes the book before her.

            "Where's the rest of it?" Jody fumes, looking back to Claire, a disapproving look on her face.

            "The rest of what?"Claire asks.

            "Don't you play dumb with me, young lady." Jody hisses, pointing a finger, "Your research. This," she gestures at the book, "has been going on for weeks, I know this can't be all you have. So where is it?"

            Claire rolls her eyes.

            "Claire, I swear to God." Jody starts.

            "You swear to God what? You can't stop me, Jody. This is what I need to do. I need to be out there saving people, hunting thi-"

            "Don't you finish that sentence. You are not a hunter."

            "Says who?"

            "Says me!"

            "You're not my mother."

            "No," Jody says, deflated, "I'm not. But I know what happened to your mother... and your father, and I know what happened to my family, and by God I will not let you do this to yourself."

            Claire flares her nostrils, "So what, I'm supposed to just go about my _normal_ life and watch you hunt whenever you want to, but ignore what I know is going on in the world."

            "I don't hunt anymore."

            "You are such a liar!" Claire laughs hysterically. "I heard you on the phone last week with Sam! You think I don't know why you left in such a rush? _'Claire, something came up at the station, I won't be back till late!'_ It wasn't born yesterday, Jody. You left your work phone on the counter."

            Jody stares at Claire with wide eyes, "Where is this hostility coming from?"

            "I _am_ a hunter." Claire demands, ignoring Jody's question. "And I'm going after this thing."

            Claire huffs; Jody shakes her head, feeling helpless as she watches Claire reach under her bed for her research board and shove it into her already full backpack. She pushes past Jody into the hall, grabbing the book off her desk as she passes. Jody tries to bite back the anger rising in her throat and go after her.

            "Don't you dare walk out of this house, Claire."

            Claire has two arms in her jacket already and is reaching for the door, "You can't stop me, I'm nineteen."

            She slams the door just as Jody steps forward to grab it, and she's gone.

 

-

 

            Ben is breathing hard as he scribbles in his open notebook, his nerves keeping him on edge. He pens his evening plans in detail, careful to make sure his handwriting is legible.

            A knock on his bedroom door grabs his attention.

            "Come in." He calls from his desk, closing the leather bound book and turning in his chair.

            "Hey, honey," Lisa greets, leaning in the doorway. Her hair is still wet from her shower, and Ben notices the dark spots the tips are leaving on her blue scrub top.

            Ben looks at his mom and smiles, "Heading out?"

            "Yeah," Lisa nods, "you have any plans tonight?" She asks in a routine way.

            Normally, Ben would shrug and shake his head, tell her he was going to stay in and play video games, but tonight, something compels him to tell the truth.

            "I was thinking about going down to Western for the night, maybe catch up with Nate."

            Okay, so it was it wasn't the whole truth, but it wasn't a lie, either. He would be near Western Michigan University, and there was a small chance he might run into his former next door neighbor while he was there.

            "Okay," Lisa smiles, walking into his room. She kisses the top of his head before ruffling his hair.

            "Be safe. See if you can find out who to talk to about admissions while you're there."

            Ben smiles back at his mom, "I'm gonna get in next year mom, stop worrying."

            "It's my job. My other, other job. I'll see you in the morning."

            "Work hard!" Ben teases as Lisa retreats from his room, "And thanks for dinner."

            She pokes her head back in, "Your turn to cook tomorrow, and no mac-and-cheese this time."

            "Fine," Ben says, rolling his eyes, "grilled cheese, then." he smirks.

            Lisa chuckles, "Love you, kid."

            "Love you!" Ben calls after her.

            He turns back to his desk and sighs as he listens to his mom leave the house. He hates that she had to work two jobs now to keep their lives the same they'd always been, when one job used to be enough.

            Yoga instructor by day, nurse by night.

            Ben knows his mom loves both jobs, and even though she doesn't work every single night and day, he wishes he could do more for her. At least more than protect her from the monsters he isn't even sure are real.

            He glances at the clock on the wall; it's just after seven-thirty. He flips back through his notebook, landing several pages before the one he was writing on. He'd been tracking this demon for weeks now, since it took the life of one of his classmates. Everyone thought it had been an accident - that's how the cops had written it off, but Ben knew. He'd had a sinking feeling in his gut the moment he'd heard.

            Most people had no idea that there were actual creatures that went bump in the night. He wasn't sure exactly how he knew, but he did. Or at least he must have, before the accident. He doesn't remember much about them from before, but when he had come home from the hospital he'd found the half-filled notebook stuffed under his mattress. All of the handwriting matched his, but even as he re-read the entries - things about monsters, and man named Dean; speculation on what the monsters were, angry notes scribbled down about what mom and Dean were hiding from him, - nothing clicked in his memory.

            He'd asked his mom once if she knew anyone named Dean. She said she hadn't, but Ben couldn't leave it alone.

            "Wasn't the guy who hit us, wasn't his name Dean?" He'd asked.

            "I don't know honey, I don't remember getting his name." Lisa had told him as she prepared them lunch; two tuna salad sandwiches.

            "He gave us his name when he came to the room, I'm sure it was Dean."

            "I'm sorry sweetie, I don't remember." She placed her cutting knife down, putting her hands on her hips. "Why is this so important to you?"

            Ben shook his head, "No reason." He countered, pulling his plate towards him.

            It wasn't long before Ben was shoving the notebook in his backpack and walking out the door himself, prepared for a hunt.

 

 

-

 

            "Jody, slow down. Claire's where?" Dean asks, trying to make heads or tails of her blabbering.

            He walks into the bunker's kitchen to find Sam sitting  at their table, eating a salad bigger than his head. He scrunches his nose up in distaste at the rabbit food before setting the phone down on the table.

            "You're on speaker, Sam's here." He tells Jody.

            Her voice comes through the cell's speaker, frantic, "Claire took off on me. She's been locked in her room for days, hasn't been to school in a week. I thought I could talk to her, see what was going on, but.. she's at it again."

            "Hunting?" Sam asks, mouth full of spinach.

            "Yeah. She thinks she has to do it."

            Dean tilts his head back, squeezing the top of his nose with his fingers, between his eyes. "When did she go?"

            "About an hour ago." Jody reveals. "She's got her phone turned off. I started to go after her, but you know as well as I do, when she doesn't want to be found, she can't be found."

            "Yeah." Dean agrees, "So, what're we gonna do?"

            Jody sighs, "I was hoping you could just keep an ear out for her. I don't know where she's headed. I don't even know what she thinks she's after. I didn't get a chance to read her research."

            Sam clears his throat, "Of course, Jody. We'll put Cas on it too. He might be able to find her quicker than us."

            Dean laughs beside his brother at the mention of Cas' name. Sam shoots him a fierce look, gesturing back to the phone.

            "We'll head up your way, Jody." Dean recovers, "Ask around at some places, maybe we can figure out what she's after and intercept her trail."

            "Thanks boys. Don't know what I'd do without you."

            "See you soon." Sam ends the call. He looks back to his brother, "What the hell was that, Dean?"

            "Teenage angst, probably. She's still a teenager, right?"

            Sam deadpans him, "Cas, not Claire."

            Dean rolls his eyes, "He hasn't exactly been helpful lately, am I wrong?"

            Sam sighs, "No, you're not wrong. But it's worth a shot at least."

            "Yeah, good luck getting him to answer your calls." Dean says before snatching up his phone and leaving the room.


	2. Chapter 2

-2-

 

Darkness falls quickly. Ben pulls his cherished 1986 Chevrolet Camaro into the empty Park Club lot across from Bronson Park just as the clock on his dashboard hits eight o'clock. He kills the engine, looking around before he steps out of the car. 

The street is quiet; too quiet, not another soul in sight in the dimly lit area, just as Ben had  been hoping. He walks along the sidewalk aimlessly, looking in the windows of shops that had long since closed for the night. He'd left his backpack in his car, settling for the slim knife he had slipped into the arm of his jacket, and the one he'd clipped to his belt. 

He wasn't sure how long he'd been out here, wandering the streets, but it'd been long enough for his mind to wander. He'd spent the better half of the week trailing this demon - Barbas, his research had told him, and now that he was sure he had it in the bag, he couldn't wait for it to be over. 

Turning on his heel to walk back up the same sidewalk he just came down, he takes out his phone and pretends to text, something to make him look more distracted. 

He sees movement out of the corner of his eye, and readies himself, slipping his phone back in his pocket and shimmying the knife in his sleeve down toward his hand. 

Barbas appears behind him, a shadow towering above his own beneath the yellow street light, and Ben turns, ready to strike.  Barbas smiles, teeth yellowed and eyes glowing gold as it tilts its head and reaches out for Ben, who dodges his quick movements. 

To date, Ben hasn't faced many demons. According to his journal, he'd never faced one before the accident, and since, he's only had the upper hand in tracking and killing four, maybe five, if you count what he thought was a vampire a few months back in Grand Rapids. He hoped it was, because he didn't see himself a killer, and didn't want to be one, but when he saw the woman all but devouring a child, he didn't hesitate in swinging the axe he was smart enough to bring with him. 

His heart is beating hard in his chest as he swings at the demon before him now. The knife barely grazes it's arm before it knocks it out of Ben's hands.  

Ben looks from Barbas to his hand with wide eyes. He hadn't been expecting that. He reaches to his belt to remove the other knife, but can't get it out of its holster. He struggles with it as he backs away from the demon who is gaining on him, taking slow but steady steps toward him. 

Ben falters on a back step, hitting the ground hard, narrowly escaping smacking his head on the pavement. Barbas looms over him, snickering. It waves its hand in the air over him and sniffs. Ben watches in shock before, out of nowhere, a shot rings out and the demon is knocked onto the ground beside him. 

Ben looks around as another shot stings his ears. He jumps up, watching the demon as it sneers and scowls into the dark before disappearing.

He turns, brushing the arm of his jacket off, to see a girl standing in between a pair of trees, just in view from the shadows. 

His anger flares, "Why the hell did you do that?!" 

"I was trying to help you." The blonde says, lowering her gun. 

"I had it under control." 

She scoffs, "Didn't seem like it." 

"What do you know?" Ben snaps, reaching for his knife the demon had knocked away. 

The girl places her free hand on her hip, "A lot more than you if you think you had that under control. Do you have any idea what could have happened to you?" 

Ben looks the girl over with angry eyes, her long blonde hair in a high pony tail, smaller strands framing her face, highlighting her big, blue eyes. Her clothes match his well; dark jeans, leather jacket, black boots. It was like they shopped out of the same catalog. 

"First of all," Ben tells her,  "that was called strategy. Secondly, I know what I'm up against. I wouldn't be wasting my time if I didn't." 

The girl drops her hand from her hip, "Are you a hunter?" 

"A what?" Ben asks. 

"How do you know what that was?" She points in the direction Barbas had run off in with her gun. 

"Listen," Ben sighs, "you just lost my chance at killing this thing and you're going to ask  _me_  questions? Who are you?" 

"Do you know how to kill it?" 

"Who are you?" He asks again.

The girl sticks her nose up, "Name's Claire... And you are?" 

"Ben." 

"Are you working alone?" Claire asks. 

"Why do you care?" 

Claire huffs, stepping closer to Ben, "Because we are obviously after the same thing here. Why are you being such an ass?" 

"I've been waiting two days for this chance and you blew it!" Ben shouts at her, annoyed with this girl who thought she could just swing in and take his kill - and miss it. 

"Relax," Claire waves him off, "He's injured. I shot him with rock salt. We can regroup and plan out a new  _strategy_." 

Ben stares at her, "I'm sorry, regroup?" 

"Look, we can go after it together, or we can do it separately. I have a lot of research on it. I didn't follow it all the way to this shit town to give up though. So what'll it be?" 

"Where did you even come from?" 

Claire purses her lips, "Originally, Illinois. Lately, South Dakota."

"You're not gonna go away until I say we can work together, are you?" 

Claire shakes her head. 

Ben sighed, "Come on." He says, gesturing for her to follow him. 

 

- 

 

"My mom's at work, so we have the place to ourselves for a few hours." Ben tells Claire as he walks her to the front door. 

"Does she know you do this?" 

"God, no." He says, "And she'll never find out." 

Claire nods once, a twinge of jealousy touching her heart that Ben can have it the way she wants it; hunting with no rules. 

She follows Ben into the house, watching him as he turns the lights on in the front room and kitchen. 

"So, uh, make yourself at home, I guess. There's water in the fridge if you're thirsty. I'm gonna head upstairs and grab my notes." 

Claire doesn't answer before he disappears upstairs. She opens the fridge, grabs herself a bottled water and slice of watermelon off the fruit tray. She looks around as she bites into the soft fruit, rushing to catch the juice that runs down her chin.  

The house is small; quaint. The kitchen boasts an island, which is clear of anything except a fruit basket. There's a kitchen table to her left, set with four matching placemats, lit by a low hanging lamp. The dark wood reminds her of the table in the house she grew up in, though that table sat more than four, even though there were only ever three people who ate at it. 

To her right, Claire notices a cork board pegged with photos of Ben and a woman, who she assumes is his mother. She can't help but smile at the happy faces in the photos, another pang of jealousy grabbing at her heart. 

 Ben bounces down the stairs, a leather notebook in one hand, and a laptop in the other. 

"I figure we can compare notes and do a little more research if need be?" 

Claire nods, a small smile forming on her lips. 

"What?" Ben asks, setting his belonging down on the kitchen table. 

"A half hour ago you wanted nothing to do with me, now you want to share notes?" 

He half-smiles, "Sometimes it's better to work together." 

"Mmm," Clare sounds, rolling her eyes. 

Time escapes them quickly, and after comparing the notes they had taken on the demon separately, and finding most of them to be eerily similar, they move to the living room. 

Claire wraps herself in the throw blanket she pulls off the back of the couch as Ben situates himself in the arm chair, balancing his lap top on his knee. 

"Earlier you said you were from South Dakota..." Ben trails off. 

Claire stifles a yawn, "Yeah, and?" 

Ben shakes his head, "Just wondering if you have a place to stay." 

Claire raises an eyebrow, trying to get a read on this kid she met only a few hours ago. 

"I usually sleep in my car, unless I can find a motel cheap enough. Know of any in the area?" 

"You can sleep on the couch if you want. My mom won't be home until really late, and she leaves around ten for her other job. We could finish this up in the morning... if you want to." 

Claire nods, "Okay, well, thanks." 

Ben smiles, returning to his laptop, and beings typing. They banter back and forth about where to find reliable sources on the internet, and end up arguing for fifteen minutes about why  _"You can't trust Wikipedia to write a paper, never mind defeat a demon!"_  

It's well after 3 a.m. when they finally decide to call it quits, both easily falling asleep on their respective couches. Ben shifts in the recliner at the sounds of the deadbolt in the front door. 

His eyes shoot open at the realization that his front door is being unlocked; his mom his home. He looks to Claire, asleep on the couch, and jumps up, rushing to the foyer to greet his mom. 

"B-Ben!" Lisa stutters, "You scared me half to death. What are you doing up?" 

Ben swallows, "I was just going to bed actually." 

Lisa looks behind him warily, and he knows she's seen their guest. It's hard to miss a mop of blonde hair against their dark couch. 

"Who's the girl?" She asks, voice hard, as she moves into the kitchen. 

"What?" Ben says breathless, trying not to sound like he's hiding something.  

She glared at him, "The girl asleep on my couch in there. Who is she?" 

"Just a girl that I know." 

Lisa sighs, "You know the rules, Ben. I didn't get a phone call. Do you go to school with her?" 

"No, I just met her tonight." He cursed himself for his honesty. He had never been very good at lying to his mom, this time was proving to be no different. 

"Excuse me?" She exclaims. 

"Um, I - " 

"Benjamin Isaac, why is there a girl you just met sleeping on my couch?" Her voice was just above a whisper, but it was harsh enough that it made Ben want to run and hide. 

"She didn't have anywhere to go." He shrugs. 

"Ben, you can't just - " 

"She saved me mom," he rushes to say, "from - from a mugger." 

"And that somehow makes her less of a stranger?" 

"Don't make me throw her out, mom. It's almost four in the morning and it's freezing outside. She was going to sleep in her car. She's my age, I couldn't let her do that." 

Lisa sighs again, shaking her head, "Fine, but she better not steal anything. We're going to talk about this, Ben. You don't get to bend the rules just because you feel bad. Lock your bedroom door, okay?" 

"Mom." 

"Ben." 

"Okay. Goodnight." 

"Goodnight sweetie." She kisses his cheek, before heading up the stairs. 


End file.
